It’s likely that you’ve heard of Amsterdam-based label, The Fabricant. As of late, their name has been linked to fashion luminaries in the vein of Adidas, Off-White and Tommy Hilfiger; a tour de force within the NFT marketplace determined to push the envelope with regard to digital wearables and assets. Utilising 3D animation software, motion capture and body scanning, The Fabricant has continually produced groundbreaking creations that have shaken up the intersection between the physical fashion industry and the metaverse—a pattern of which is set to continue seeing how they have recently secured USD$14 million worth of funding.
The round of financing is led by investor Greenfield One; a crypto and blockchain venture capitalist firm. Other participants include Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures and Red Dao amongst many others. Said funding will be used to support more ventures and projects from The Fabricant Studio, a subsidiary of the company created with the aim to build the wardrobe of the metaverse.
“Since 2016, The Fabricant has tested the boundaries of possibility for fashion. We founded the world’s first digital-only fashion house, establishing the concept of non-physical couture, and built an industry from the ground up. We faced a lot of push back in the early days; we were told it would never work and what we did was both stupid and pointless. There was never any doubt in our minds that we were creating the future of self-expression in virtual spaces, so we focused on leading with our values and made elevating digital craftsmanship our north star,” shares Kerry Murphy, founder and CEO of The Fabricant.
“It means so much that our investment partners recognised, validated and supported our strategy,” he adds. “The funding allows us to further evolve our work building the wardrobe of the metaverse through our co-creation platform The Fabricant Studio, and means we can continue our role as pathfinders for a more creative, innovative and equitable fashion industry.”
All things considered, there is no doubt that a new chapter is in the works with regard to both the fashion realm as well as the metaverse. The company has teamed up with World of Women, for one, for an upcoming project slated to drop in May 2022, and has also since worked with Stephy Fung, a 3D based artist, on a zodiac-based wearable range set to launch from 15 April. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with what they have in the pipeline, according to Amber Slooten, co-founder and creative director at The Fabricant, who asserts this in a press statement.
“The story behind digital fashion is in need of a new narrative. One that leaves toxic behaviours and waste behind and looks into the 21st century and beyond. In the metaverse we get to create a new playing field where everyone can benefit and enjoy the love for self-expression, and create an economy around it,” Slooten states. “We’ve designed the tools to help construct a new fashion industry, one in which we believe we will all thrive.”
